Multiscale porosity in a 3D printed gellan–gelatin composite for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

The aim of this work was to develop a complex-shaped gelatin–gellan composite scaffold with multiscale porosity using a combination of cryogenic 3D printing and lyophilization for bone tissue engineering. Cryogenic 3D printing was used to fabricate a low-concentration composite of complex-shaped macroporous gelatin–gellan structures with a pore size of 919 ± 89 µm. This was followed by lyophilization to introduce micropores of size 20–250 µm and nanometre-level surface functionalities, thus achieving a hierarchical porous structure. These multiscale porous scaffolds (GMu) were compared with two other types of scaffolds having only microporosity (GMi) and macroporosity (GMa) with regard to their physical and in vitro biological properties. GMu scaffolds were found to be better than GMi and GMa in terms of swelling percentage, degradation rate, uniform pore distribution, cellular infiltration, attachment, proliferation, protein generation and mineralization. In conclusion, we have developed a controlled hierarchical bone-like structure, biomimicking natural bone, together with a reproducible process of manufacture by coupling soft hydrogel 3D printing with lyophilization. This enables the development of complex-shaped patient-specific 3D printed hydrogel scaffolds with enhanced performance in vitro and great potential in the fields of tissue engineering, bioprinting and regenerative medicine.